Barely Concealed
by BlackDeath99912
Summary: What would you do if you realize something was wrong? No, a better question would be how long before you realize that not everything was what they seemed to be? How long before you realize the problem was standing right in front of you?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. So, please don't sue me.**

**A/N: New job. 'Nuff said.**

**Anyway, this chapter is short just 'cause I've been too busy to write. Don't be pissed at me because of that. What's more is that "The Lone Blade" will be deleted a few hours from now. Now, for the first chapter of the rewrite.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Beginning of The End**

Kisuke Urahara frowned as he stared at the dismantled NerveGear. This was impossible. No man should have been able to do this without anyone noticing. He sighed to himself. Well, there's not much he can do about it now.

"Ururu, go and call Isshin for me,"

"Hai,"

* * *

It was a quiet day in the Kurosaki household. If you were to ask the neighbors, they'd say it was too quiet. And they would be correct, seeing as though for the longest time, there wasn't a time that the Kurosaki's were quiet.

Something was wrong, that much they knew. What is was, was another thing all together.

A black haired teen entered the house. Now this wouldn't normally alarm them, seeing as though the older of the two Kurosaki twins was both black haired and would normally dress like a boy. No, what alarmed them was that the man's features were that of Ichigo Kurosaki's. But that was impossible. Ichigo would never dye his own hair, he said so himself.

Perhaps something or someone bigger was in play?

* * *

**Six Months Ago**

_"It ends here, Aizen Sosuke,"_

_A black blade formed in his hand. He lifted it up and swung down, "Mugetsu,"_

_**"No! No human could possibly defeat me! Hogyoku, finish what has started!"**_

_A several beams of purple light met the incoming force. Still, it was not enough as the Mugetsu broke through in the end. Aizen screamed in agony as his body was evaporated into reishi particles._

_It was over._

_Aizen was dead._

_He was going to be powerless._

_He sighed to himself. That was the catch, wasn't it? There was _always _a catch. That was the price. To protect everything he cared about with the last bit of his power. He was supposed to be satisfied._

_So why wasn't he? Maybe it was because he was never going to see his Shinigami friends again? Maybe that he would just be able to watch from the sidelines as his comrades fought what he had fought before?_

_Or maybe, just maybe, that he was going to miss everything and everyone?_

_"Ichigo,"_

_He turned his head, staring at his partner as his form materialized, "Tensa. Never thought you'd be able to do that,"_

_"It was quite simple, actually," he said quietly with a small smile, "But that is not the reason I am here," his smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared._

_"You don't have to lose your powers,"_

_Ichigo's eyes widened, "How?" he simply asked, still skeptical, "By merging with me and the Hollow," he answered, "Doing so, however will cause us to cease existing,"_

_Ichigo turned away from Zangetsu, his mind running a hundred miles an hour. On one hand, he'd be able to protect his friends and family once more. On the other hand, he'd lose the partners he had spent so long with. With a sigh, he faced his Zanpakuto._

_"What do you want?"_

_"You already know the answer to that,"_

_Ichigo nodded his head, "Do it." A sudden burst of pain seared through him. He screamed silently in agony, and for what seemed to be an eternity, he finally collapsed from the pain._

* * *

He jolted upright. He looked around and was relieved to find himself in his room. He'd been having that dream for awhile now. He didn't think about it much. It was more of a memory rather than a dream. Though, for some reason, he felt as if the last part was missing something.

"ICHIGO! COME DOWN HERE FOR A SEC!"

"WHAT?!"

He brushed his now black hair. Ever since merging with his Hollow and Zangetsu, he'd gained some of their traits. Namely, Zangetsu's ability to calculate battle tactics at an alarming rate, coupled with his Hollow's raw instinct, made him into an almost unbeatable Substitute. His black hair, however, was just a side effect from merging while in Bankai.

Though, none of this cured him of his moronic father and his ways.

"I'LL BE AT KISUKE'S SHOP IF YOU NEED ME! AND BY THAT I MEAN THAT YOU SHOULD PROBABLY BRING A GIRL HOME!"

"SHUT UP AND GO ALREADY!"

"CONDOMS ARE IN MY OFFICE!"

"DAMMIT, YOU OLD GEEZER! THE NEXT TIME YOU STEP IN THIS HOUSE, YOU ARE FUCKING DEAD!"

"THAT'S NO WAY TO TALK TO YOUR FATHER!"

"FUCK! YOU!"

Oh, and did I forget to mention he also gained some of the Hollow's swearing habits?

"GO ASK YORUICHI ABOUT THAT!"

With that, Isshin left before his son's mind could process what he said. Still, he could've sworn he heard Ichigo's voice screaming bloody murder. He felt a shiver go down his spine. There's gonna be hell to pay when he comes home.

Meh.

He'll cross that bridge when he gets there. Right now though, Kisuke needed him. Using Shunpo, he arrived in front of the Shoten. Opening the door, he was surprised at what he saw. It was Kisuke, but with perhaps the most serious look he had ever seen.

"Isshin." Said man's eyes narrowed. Kisuke wasn't this serious when facing anything, not even Aizen. If he was like this, then something big must be happening.

"Sit down. We have a lot to talk about."

* * *

**2 hours later**

"...are you sure about this?"

Kisuke just nodded, while his friend's eyes hardened, "Is there another way?"

"He'd probably refuse if we told him about it."

Isshin grimaced, "Then do it." Kisuke turned his head and called Ururu.

"Bring Ichigo here as fast as you can."

"Hai."

"If he asks, knock him out."

"Hai."

"If he doesn't, still knock him out."

"Hai."

* * *

Ichigo looked up from his dinner. His father had yet to come home. Normally, he wouldn't be worried, but now, his instincts had told him otherwise, and from his past battles, it was always good to follow your instincts. Something was wrong. Something was _very _wrong.

His train of thought was broken as knocking came from the door, "I'll get it," he said nonchalantly, though inwardly, he was confused. Over the months, he had gotten better at detecting reiatsu, which was overall, not that much. Without complete control over his reiatsu, he wasn't able to scan entire towns like Ishida, but he could sense them if they were near him. So, that begs the question;

Why the hell was Ururu here?

"Kurosaki-san, I have been ordered by Urahara-san to take you to the Shoten."

Well, that answers that, "Why w-" he felt something hit him from the side as he blacked out. The last thing he saw was Ururu's innocent face looking at him, though he was sure it was her that did it.

* * *

"Is it ready?"

"Yep,"

Kisuke adjusted the helmet-like visor on Ichigo's head and turned it on. The teen jolted and immediately looked around, before glaring at the shopkeeper, "Why the fuck am I here?"

"You'll find out soon enough,"

He turned his head to the voice, surprised by the fact that his father was there, "What the f-"

That was the last thing he said before his world turned white. Several multicolored circles appeared before him, moving too fast for him to read whatever was written on them. Finally, he seemed to go through a tube of light before something appeared before him.

_[Please enter your name and appearance]_

Thinking for a moment, he entered his name as Zangetsu, all the while asking himself what the fuck he'd been thrown into. Changing his appearance to closely resemble Tensa, albeit with white hair and brown eyes.

_[Welcome to Sword Art Online!]_

He blinked and suddenly he was in the middle of a town. His mind worked overdrive as he tried to figure out what just happened. He entered his name, he altered his appearance, Kisuke was involved, and the words 'Sword Art Online'. All of that could amount to only one thing.

This was a game.

He felt something on his waist. Looking down, he saw a small one-handed sword. It was probably the starter weapon, he mused to himself. He scanned the area and saw multiple flashes of light before they were replaced by people. He saw them swipe their hands in the air and, much to his surprise, a holographic screen appeared before them. Copying their movement, a screen too appeared before him. Going through the entire menu, he selected [Options]. Even though he knew very little about games, even he knew that the Help would most likely be in the [Options]. To his frustration though, there was no Help, nor an other Option, except one.

[System Assist].

Curiosity took over as he pressed it. Immediately, another screen popped up.

_[Warning!_

_Turning off the [System Assist] will disable any and all help from the entire system. This option is recommended only to experts, or to those who have experience in fighting in the outside world._

_Continue disabling the [System Assist]?_

_[Yes] [No]_

Shrugging, he selected [Yes]. He _probably _had more than enough experience. Note the sarcasm.

In all honesty though, if this was some game that Kisuke made, he'd need everything he knew and not just some pre-programmed movements.

Going through his menu once more, he opened his inventory. Just as he suspected, his gear was all [Starter] gear. Along with that, he also had 1000 [Col], which was probably the currency in this place. Sighing, he decided to go to the [Market].

If he was going to play this, he'd better take it seriously.

* * *

"He's doing good."

They watched as Ichigo, or rather, «Zangetsu», went through the items in the [Market].

"If what you're saying is true, how are we even watching this?" Asked Isshin, worried that his son might die, while Kisuke just smiled grimly, "We won't be for long," just as he said that, static filled the screen as words started to form.

**Unauthorized access detected. Proceeding with Protocol-Alpha-41.**

Following that, the computer they were using suddenly shut down, "It seems that Protocol-Alpha-41 shuts down the hacker's computer," he started up the PC once more, "...and deletes the entire hardrive," he added as he stared blankly at the empty screen. He almost cried as he realized something.

"You're on your own now, Ichigo... Avenge the loss of all my blackmail material!"

Isshin sweatdropped. Even at a time like this, Kisuke acted like, well, Kisuke.

"Do you think he remembers?" The shopkeeper asked, now completely serious. Isshin's face hardened, "I don't know. You did modify his memories, didn't you?"

"Of course,"

"Well, if that's the case, I'd give him a few months, maybe a year or two, before he remembers."

* * *

Zangetsu sneezed. Looking around, he couldn't help but feel the need to kick a certain shopkeeper and his father. Well, that wasn't new, but still. Turning around, he faced the exit of the town, which he learned was called the [Town Of Beginnings] with good reason. He breathed out his nostrils as he came to a decision.

After he gets out of here, he was going to beat the living crap out of Kisuke.

As he headed out the town, he could already see several people fighting boars, and failing miserably at that. He could already see some dieing because of careless mistakes.

Traveling farther into the fields, he eventually came across an area where it seemed that no players had gotten to yet. Readying his new weapon, which was a daito sized sword, he charged at the nearest boar. He stabbed his sword into its head, killing it instantly. From what he learned from his Shinigami duties is that killing it quick will lessen any and all forms of danger.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he stared at the rest of the boars grazing on the field.

It was gonna be a long day.

* * *

He leaned on a tree as he panted. Two hours. Two _fucking _hours. That was how long he had been fighting for. And for what? After all that, he was just level 4. What kind of shit was that?

Checking his inventory, he frowned as he had only one more health potion. He burned through them so quickly, he hadn't even realized that he'd already used nine of them. Sighing he started to head back to the town. With all the drops he had gotten, he'd make up for everything.

As he was going through the plains, he saw what seemed to be a red haired man rolling on the floor, clutching his crotch, while he was repeatedly getting hit by a boar. Looking on amusedly, he tilted his head to see another man, this time with black hair, standing next to him, looking as if he wanted to facepalm.

"He does know that you can't feel pain here, right?" He asked as he walked towards the pair. The red head blinked, "Hey, you're right," he said before sitting up, "But it was instinctive, you know!" he added as the two looked at him as if he were retarded. The other sighed before turning to Zangetsu.

"Kirito,"

He took a moment to understand that that was his name, before he quickly replied, 'Zangetsu'.

"What about you?"

"Name's Klein,"

As if it were offended that it was being ignored, the boar charged once more, tossing Klein down once more. Kirito sighed as he picked up a rock, "Just start the motion and let the system assist take over," he demonstrated by motioning to throw the rock before it glowed red and he threw it at the boar, making it focus on him.

"Start the motion, huh?" he muttered to himself, drawing his arm back as the boar's attention once more shifted to him. His katana glowed red as he swung down, killing the mob easily.

"Woah! That was awesome!"

He repeated the action over a few times before Kirito once more turned to Zangetsu, "Uh, do you have a reason for staying here?"

He ignored him as he asked the shorter teen, "What do you call those, uh...?"

"Sword Skills. Why?"

"Just curious,"

With that he turned around and continued on his way, _'Sword Skills, huh? I guess this isn't just some simple fighting game. Hell, I should have figured that out when I started using my own damn body to move instead of some controller,'_

Nearing the town, he cursed whatever his past self had done for him to deserve this. If Kisuke wanted something to experiment with something, why hadn't he asked first? Well, probably because he'd deny any and all offers even if he tried to bribe him, but still-

He blinked as he stopped suddenly. In front of him was a hooded figure staring at him intently. Shrugging, he circled around the figure.

What he didn't notice was the figure watching him as they typed away on a holographic keyboard.

* * *

"What. The. Fuck."

Those were the words that left his mouth as he was teleported to the center of the town. It had been another hour or two since he had come back from his little 'grinding', as he remembered overhearing several players talk about doing just that.

After selling almost all the drops he had gotten, he had immediately set out to find out how to use these 'Sword Skills'. It wasn't that hard to do. He just had to open his [Character] menu and learn how to activate them.

His first, and only, skill was «Vertical», which he had immediately learned, given the slight similarities between it and a Getsuga Tenshou.

After that, he decided to go grinding once more. As he was about to enter the fields, however, he was teleported back to town, along with many other players who were all whispering to one another, asking what was going on. He didn't blame them, though. I mean, who wouldn't ask questions if you were suddenly teleported to somewhere else while you were doing something else?

"Look!"

As if on cue, everyone's heads looked towards the sky, where several red hexagons with words he couldn't quite distinguish. The hexagons began to expand until it covered the entire sky. Blood-like liquid began pouring from the edges of several hexagons, forming a humanoid shape.

**"Greetings, players. My name is Kayaba Akihiko. Welcome, to my world."**

Whispers sprung up, ranging from how Kayaba Akihiko was the creator of this world, to how this was just the welcoming ceremony. Zangetsu, though, paid them no mind. He could see that Kayaba might be the creator of this world, so he didn't mind that. Rather what he was worrying about was what he had said at the end.

This was _his _world.

**"You may be wondering why you have been summoned here. The reason is simple; I would like to announce the official start of the game. As of right now, each and every one of you is trapped here. The only way to escape is to beat this game. Be warned though. If you were to die here, your NerveGears will send an electromagnetic wave to your brain, and thus, killing you. Any and all attempts to remove the NerveGear by use of outside forces will also result in your deaths. Regrettably, 526 players have already died due to friends and family ignoring this warning. As a welcoming present, I have given you all something. Please check your inventory."**

Hands swiped the air as they hastily opened their inventories. There, an item appeared.

«Mirror»

A bright light enveloped those around him as they selected the item. The light died out to show another person in place of the other. Suddenly reluctant, Zangetsu debated against himself. Heaving a great sigh, he pressed the item. A mirror appeared in his hand and immediately he was enveloped in a bright light.

As the light died, he knew for sure he was still here. Good. The item didn't kill them. But what did it do? As he looked into the mirror, what he saw confused him. His face still looked like Tensa's but instead of white hair, he had black, though he still had his own brown eyes. What was the point of that mirror if it only inverted his avatar's colors?

**"I wish you all luck. Thus ends the official tutorial of Sword Art Online."**

The humanoid figure collapsed.

Chaos erupted.

* * *

**A/N: Cliffhanger. Tell me though, honestly, if this chapter still seemed rushed. Another thing: tell me if you guys want to see what Urahara and the others are doing in the outside world. Also, to those who read the original, well, you can see a _lot_ of changes. For example, Kisuke's involvement, Ichigo meeting the Beater himself before the announcement, and not getting his mask. Yet. One other thing: search through your brains and ask yourself, _'What would the Hollow do?'_. **

**IMPORTANT NOTE: There are 20000 players instead of 10000. Why? Cause it's gonna be important. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own jack-shit.**

**Chapter 2: Keep Your Enemies Close**

* * *

Silence. Silence so quiet that you could hear a pin dropping in a sound proof room while you're ears were covered by five pairs of ear mufflers.

Then, someone screamed. That very same scream seemed to shock everyone back into reality. This couldn't be happening.

But it was.

Cries of outrage, sorrow, anger, disbelief, and many others echoed throughout the town as the red sky faded into nothing. Zangetsu's eyes darkened. So, this was what the shopkeeper meant. Why him though? He already went through a war, so why bring him here? Whatever it was, he knew it was important, cause Kisuke always had a reason for his actions.

He scoured the crowd. He had two choices; 1, he could help everyone or 2, he could do what his Hollow's instincts told him; survive.

Clenching his fist, he turned and walked out of the town. His instincts were never wrong. But, even after telling himself that, he regretted that decision soon after he made it.

The first few hours were horrible. With people denying what Kayaba had said, chaos had ensued. Many stayed in inns and houses and hoped for the best. The few that remained either went out into the fields and tried to find the Boss, or went mob grinding.

That's when things got worse.

A player who had been in denial had said that dieing was the only way out. That everything Kayaba had said was a lie. That if they were to die, they'd return to the real world. Soon, he committed suicide, followed by several dozen more.

After only five hours, over a thousand had died due to suicides.

He panted as he stabbed another boar, dispersing it into hexagons. He looked around. So far, he was almost to level 5. Just level 5. Even if he wasn't the best with games like this, he for one knew that the early levels were supposed to be easy, so what was wrong?

"Hey, you there!"

He was snapped out of his thoughts as a voice called out to him. Tilting his head, he saw a spiky haired teen walking up to him. He raised an eyebrow.

"There's going to be a meeting in the town, so don't be late!"

With that, the teen left. Zangetsu just stood there.

_'What the fuck? He didn't even tell me where I was supposed to go!'_

He sighed, _'Well, better start looking,'_

He sheathed his sword and started walking.

**Earlier**

Isshin frowned as Kisuke frantically pressed buttons on a complicated piece of machinery.

"The hell are you doing?"

"Well, you did feel the burst of reiatsu from your son, right?" The shopkeeper didn't even so much as look at him as he continued pressing seemingly random buttons.

"Yeah, so what?" He didn't understand what the big deal was. His son had barely any control of his reiatsu, so shouldn't that happen from time to time.

"Normally, it wouldn't be a cause for alarm, but right now, your son isn't using his body, nor is his reiatsu being used. As well as that, I've already calibrated my machines to practically feed on his excess reiatsu to maintain it at reasonable levels. So, tell me, how did he manage to destroy my inventions, which, may I remind you, can absorb a full blast from the Soutaicho's Bankai when he can't even move his own body?"

Isshin looked stunned, "What?"

Kisuke sighed in relief. The NerveGear was stable. For now.

"It's simple, really." Simple? The last time he said something was simple, he couldn't understand half of what the hell he was saying!

"It wasn't him." Let it be known that only Kisuke Urahara would be able to surprise him twice in five minutes.

**Present Time**

Zangetsu looked around. There weren't that many people.

_'Probably still scared and hiding,'_ he reasoned, as a blue haired man stepped up.

"Greetings, and thank you for coming here on such a short notice. My name is Diabel. I know that all of you are wondering what we're doing here. To put it bluntly; me and my party were able to find a Mini-Boss."

Immediately, everyone's attention was focused on him. Mini-Bosses were rare on the first levels of any game. If he were to guess as to why there was a Mini-Boss, he'd say it was just the twisted mind of that Kayaba.

"...eed to form a raid party."

A hand was raised.

He looked towards the owner of the hand and saw a red haired teen. He narrowed his eyes. That guy looked familiar for some reason.

"Aren't raid parties composed of the highest levelled players of the time?"

A grim look shadowed over Diabel's face, "That's just it; we are the highest levelled players, or rather we're the only players who haven't committed suicide or are in hiding."

A tense atmosphere filled the room. Zangetsu had a stony expression on his face. If things were to continue like this, how were they going to beat all 100 floors?

"It's those damn Betas' fault!"

He snapped his his toward the voice and was slightly surprised. It was the same guy with the weird hair due from before. He tensed as soon, several other players started to agree with him.

This was not going good.

If the so-called Betas and 'normal' players were to be divided, beating this game would be nigh impossible. And though he was known for doing impossible acts, he, right now, was bound to the laws of this 'game'.

There was nothing he could do if shit hits the fan here.

"They should all beg for forgiveness and offer us all their money and gear right here, right now! Those players all _died _because of the Beta-testers!"

That was the last straw for him as he stood up.

"So you're saying we should just leave them to die?"

The entire stadium went silent as they all looked at the spiky haired man for his answer. Said man was just staring at the other in confusion, before finally speaking,

"Of course! Weren't you listening when I said that the Betas' were the reason those players di-"

"If that's how everyone here thinks, then I'd rather go fight this Mini-Boss by myself."

* * *

Kibaou looked shocked at his declaration.

"What?! You'll be killed!"

Came one of the many shouts in the stadium. The black haired teen however just focused on him.

"You people seem to forget that these 'Betas' are still trapped here, just like us. That they're still human, and they have rights. If you want them to just give all their items just to increase your own survival, then that would just be as good as killing them."

He continued as if nothing was wrong with what he was he saying. Kibaou felt furious. How dare he call him a killer!? He should be on his knees thanking him right now!

"Listen here, you-!"

He didn't even get the chance to finish as the man stood and walked out. Kibaou glared at the exit, _'Good riddance,'_ he thought to himself. To his ever growing shock though, several other players followed the man out. Even Diabel looked as though he wanted to leave. He turned to the remaining players, which was barely a quarter from what it was before.

"We don't need them! We will prove to them that we will beat this game!"

Oh, how wrong he was.

* * *

Zangetsu inhaled deeply. He'd let his emotions get the better of him. Again. At least he had half a mind to leave before things got even more out of hand.

"Zangetsu-san?"

He turned his head in surprise. He hadn't told anyone his name, except for those two guys back in the fields. He narrowed his eyes.

"Kirito?"

He fully looked at 'Kirito'. He looked completely different. The other one only nodded.

"I, uh, just wanted to thank you on the behalf of all the Beta-testers." Zangetsu's eyebrows rose in confusion. He didn't do anything that important, did he? The confusion must have been written on his face, because Kirito quickly explained.

"This girl paid me to say this to you. Must have been a Beta."

He nodded. That explained things.

* * *

Kirito sighed. It was now or never, "Uh, Za-"

"You're wondering why my appearance is the same, aren't you?" Kirito blinked. He hadn't been that obvious, or had he? Apparently, he was as Zangetsu just smirked at him. It was gone as soon as it appeared, though. Eventually, Zangetsu opened his mouth, but his answer was something that greatly disappointed him.

"I don't know"

It was apparent that he wasn't gonna tell him anymore than that. Kirito nodded. He of all people should know that some things just shouldn't be revealed.

"Well, in any case, if you are really gonna try and solo the Mini-Boss, I suggest that you don't. Trying to solo a Boss, no matter how high your level might be, is suicide,"

"Risk is only a part of success. If we don't try, nothing will ever be accomplished. We'd all be stuck here, waiting for something to happen. Ask yourself this; whose fault is it that we're here? Of course, you'd immediately say Kayaba, but remember; we were the ones that put on the devices. We were the ones that _willingly_," a bitter laugh echoed in his mind, "played this game. We didn't question why he did this, nor did we hesitate. In the end, we put ourselves in risk. In the end, it's our own fault that we're stuck here, forced to play a madman's fucking game."

Zangetsu stood up, while Kirito looked stunned. He didn't notice the taller man walk away.

* * *

**10 hours later**

"Hurry up! We don't have time to waste!"

A small group of five were trekking their way through the forest. Leading them was none other than Kibaou, with one goal in mind; to kill the Mini-Boss. They would prove that this game was going to be beaten, with no help from the Betas'.

"Look!"

All heads snapped towards the clearing. There, a gigantic boar rested.

"Charge!"

Immediately, they drew their weapons. With a battle cry, they rushed in. The boar's eyes snapped open, as a health bar appeared. «Gullinbursti». It had two full bars, each about a quarter more of a normal player's.

Kibaou smirked though. It shouldn't have enough time to react to their attacks, and once it was low enough, he'd get the last hit and get all the rewards.

Too bad things don't always go as planned.

The first one was immediately killed as the Mini-Boss impaled him. The others, while looking on in shock, barely dodged «Gullinbursti» as it charged at them, though it did clip one of them, reducing his health to the red zone. Kibaou's smirk instantly disappeared. Maybe they should've brought more armour than just the starting gear. No matter. They needed to win this.

The sound of shattering glass filled his ears. He looked up, and was shocked at what he saw. The Mini-Boss was still alive, but that was it.

His party members were gone.

He was alone.

With a Mini-Boss.

While he was only level 4.

He quickly turned around and ran. He'd die if he didn't, that was for sure. «Gullinbursti» turned back and did what it was doing before Kibaou and his now-dead group came, sleeping.

Unknown to everyone, a certain information broker saw it all.

* * *

"It was him, I tell ya!"

Kibaou shouted angrily, "It was the guy from yesterday! You know, the guy that said I was a killer! He was the one that PK'd my party!"

"Do you have any proof?" Asked Diabel while frowning.

"I don't need any proof! He was the one that did it, I'm sure of it! But, if you need _proof_, then where the fuck is he now?"

"Right here,"

All heads swerved to the voice. There and behold, was the man himself. Kibaou came up to him angrily, "You..! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

He calmly closed his eyes, "I would appreciate if you would stop spreading lies to everyone about me killing your party."

"What do you know?!"

"Everything,"

Kibaou looked as though he would explode, "How?!" He demanded.

"Me,"

Everyone seemed to notice the girl that was right behind the man. She was wearing a hood, but it was obviously female, judging by the voice, "Who the hell are you?" Kibaou once again demanded.

"Argo the Rat, Aincrad's best Information Broker, at your service,"

Kibaou spat at the man, "So this was your plan? To hire some broker to pose as your witness? I-"

A crystal was thrown upwards, and instantly, everyone's attention was on it. It showed Kibaou and his party, them fighting the Mini-Boss, the death of Kibaou's party, and Kibaou himself fleeing.

Said man was staring in absolute shock.

"Kibaou-san, is this real?"

The voice of Diabel snapped everyone out of their thoughts. Everyone looked at Kibaou in hate. To die due to an accident is one thing, but to use others as canon fodder and just run away is another. He looked at the man in fury, "You just made a fucking enemy out of me, ya hear?" He said lowly so that only they heard it. The black-haired man said nothing as Kibaou ran away.

* * *

**A/N: in my opinion, this chapter was a little shitty. More of a filler than an actual chapter. You may be wondering why Ichigo left them to basically die. That's because a Hollow's first instinct is to survive. He wanted to live, but in order to do so, many had to die. Dark, I know.**

**To 9tail-Naruto for pointing out that mistake last chapter. Thanks, it's been fixed now. Also t****he reason Zangetsu is so annoyed is that if you played any RPG, you'd see that you'd reach level 5 in less than thirty minutes.**

**To 'Guest": If you don't like it, why are you still reading this?  
**

**To reality deviant: When has Urahara become anything but vague?**

**Virtual cookie to those who can guess where the name Gullinbursti came from.**

**...You're all probably wondering where the hell I've been, right? Well, tough shit. One word 'ought explain everything; Life. 'Nuff said.**


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